Digging and ditch-cleaning device.



E. N. RICH.

DIGGING AND DITCH CLEANING DEVI CE. APPLICATION HLED MAY 21.1915.

.v l l y fillllllll wi/tmwoeo Patented Feb. 22, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

ElwucMoi -E ZZEZM? E. N. RICH. DIGGING AND D|TCH CLEANING DEVICE.

APPLICATIQN FILED MAY 21, 191.5. 1,173,035. Patented Feb. 22,1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

PHC

EDWIN N. RICH, OF SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO.

DIGGING AND BITCH-CLEANING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 22, 1916.

Application filed. May 21, 1915. Serial No. 29,607.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN citizen of the United States, residing at Santa Fe, in the county of Santa Fe and State of New Mexico, have invented new and useful Improvements in Digging and Ditch-Cleaning Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to ditch digging and cleaning devices, and it has for its object to produce a simple and effective device for digging and cleaning irrigating ditches and the like and to remove from such ditches weeds and other obstructions that interfere with the flow of water therethrough.

The invention has for its object to produce a simple and effective cleaning device equipped with a rotary disk or cutting member that will prevent obstructions from hanging on the point of the cleaning device and interfering with the progress thereof.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and effective device of the character described which is equipped with platforms supported in angular position to afford supports for the driver or operator when the device is in operation.

A further object of the invention is to simplify and improve the general construction and assemblage of parts constituting the improved device.

lVith these and other ends in view which will readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the improved construction and novel arrangement and combination of parts which will be hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

N. Bron, a

In the accompanying drawings has been illustrated a simple and preferred form of the invention, it being, however, understood that no limitation is necessarily made to the precise structural details therein exhibited, but that changes, alterations and modifications within the scope of the claims may be resorted to when desired.

In the drawings,Figure 1 is a side view of the improved device. Fig. 2 is a top planview of the same. Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view. F igdisasectional detail view taken on the line 4-i in Fig. 1, and showing the device in tilted position for operation. Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 55 in Fig. 1, and also showing the device in tilted position. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the casting which constitutes the main body of the device. Fig. 7 is a bottom plan view of said casting, together with the disk attachment. Fig. 8 is a perspective detail view showing a portion of the main body, together with the disk attachment, the parts being separated to show the construction. orresponding parts in the several figures are denoted by like characters of reference. The main body of the improved device consists of a casting shown in detail in Fig. 6, by reference to which it will be seen that said casting includes a right angled triangular base plate 15, upstanding forwardly convergent wall members 16, 17 which are disposed in parallel relation to the two sides of the base plate and flanges 18, 19 extending laterally from the upper edges of said wall members. One of said flanges, 18, which is disposed at right angles to the base of the triangular base plate is extended forwardly to form a bracket 20 which is provided with an obliquely disposed depending wing or lug 21. This en tire casting is of massive construction, and it is provided with suitably disposed apertures to permit other parts of the device to be conveniently connected therewith by fastening members, such as bolts or the like. Bolted upon or otherwise securely connected with the wall members 16, 17, between the base plate 15 and the flanges 18, 19, and extending rearwardly therefrom, are the members 22, 23 which, regarding the improved implement as being somewhat in the nature of a plow, may be designated, respectively, as the landside and the mold board. The landside member 22 is of a length materially exceeding that of the mold board member, and the two members are connected together by means of a cross brace 24. The outer face of the landside member is reinforced by a metallic reinforcing plate 25, and the heel end of said plate which is most subject to wear is further thickened or reinforced, as seen at 26. Said landside member is also provided on its inner face with a reinforcing strip 27 adjacent to the lower edge thereof, said strip extending from the rear end forwardly in advance of the cross brace 24. The mold board member 23 is curved or scoop-shaped on its outer face, and is provided with a metallic wear plate 28. It will be understood from the foregoing that the landside and mold board members may be formed of ordinary planks of wood which are provided with wear plates of metal, thereby obtaining alight and durable, as well as inexpensive construction. It is obvious that the metallic wear plates may be of any desired thickness to insure proper strength, and it will further be seen that the wear plate on the mold board member is extended below the lower edge of said member and is suitably curved for the purpose of directing the material removed from the ditch to one side thereof.

Securely mounted on the inner face of the landside member adjacent to the upper edge thereof are foot boards or platforms 29, 30, one for the driver and the other for the operator of the device, said foot boards being obliquely disposed at an angle of about 45 degrees to the inner face of the landside member, so that when the device is tilted to the proper position for operation, as seen in Figs. 4 and 5, said foot boards will lie in an approximately horizontal plane. The foot board 29 provided for the driver is of sufficient length to enable him to step forward or rearward, as may be found desirable in order to impose his weight in such a manner as to keep the point or forward end of the device properly to its work, without digging too deep into the ground and without danger of rising from the ground. W'ith slight experience the driver will readily learn to adjust his weight in the most a dvantageous manner. The foot board for the operator is located to the rear of the cross members 24, and the mold board member is provided with a handle 31 which may be grasped by the operator who will thus be enabled to balance himself properly and also to swing his weight laterally to either side for the purpose of holding the implement in the proper position to do effective work.

The forwardly extending bracket 20 of the body casting of the device is provided, as heretofore described, with a depending obliquely disposed wing or lug 21 which is positioned adjacent to the outer face of the forward end of the mold board, thus preventing all possibility of said mold board member becoming detached and swinging outward from the landside member. The bracket 20 also serves for the attachment of a bar 32 provided at its forward end with a swivel clevis 33 for the attachment of the draft.

Mounted on the underside of the bar 32 is a shank 34 carrying a rotary disk or cutter 35, said shank being provided at its upper end with aplate 36 for the reception of a bolt 37, whereby it is connected with the bar 32. The bolt 37 constitutes a pivot about which the plate 36 may be turned, thereby positioning the cutting disk 35 at various angles with respect to the mold board memher in advance of which it is located, and the bar or plate 32 is provided with a downwardly extending lug 38 adapted to engage oneof a plurality of perforations 39 in the plate 36, thereby serving to retain the latter securely against rotation when the nut 40 is tightened on the bolt 37 It will be seen that by this simple arrangement by simply loosening the nut 40, the cutting disk may be adjusted to the most advantageous position for the work in hand, after which it may be rigidly secured by again tightening the nut. It will be observed that the disk 35 is of such dimensions that it will project slightly below the lower edge of the mold board member, thus serving to clear a path for the implement and preventing weeds and other obstructions from accumulating on the point thereof.

- Secured in the angle between the mold. board member 23 and the cross brace 24 is a casting 41 constituting a brace and having a downwardly extending shank 42 on which a wheel 43 is supported for rotation for the purpose of engaging the ground, reducing friction and facilitating the operation of the device. The wheel 43 which constitutes a gage wheel is vertically adjustable, a plurality of perforations 55 being provided for the passage of the axial pin or bolt 56 on which it revolves. Other well known means may, of course, be provided for effecting the vertical adjustment of the gage wheel.

In operation, the improved implement is tilted and placed in the irrigating ditch in such a manner that the outer face of the landside member 1 will engage one wall of the ditch, while the wheel 43 will engage and ride on the other wall, this position being indicated in Figs. 4 and 5. By previous adjustment of the gage wheel the nose or point of the plow may be tilted to a predetermined extent, thereby varying the depth of the out. To pull the implement three draft animals are preferably employed, one walking in the ditch and one at each side thereof. As the implement is drawn forward, the cutting disk 35 will clear the path in the bottom of the ditch, and the accumulated obstructions will slide up the inclined plane presented by the mold board member and be discharged at one side of the ditch. For trans. portation from place to place the outer face of the landside member may be turned downward, and the driver may then stand on the rearward end of said landside member to the rearward of the cross brace 24. It is obvious that in addition to being used as a ditch cleaner the improvement may be used for digging ditches, for throwing up ridges and for various other purposes wh1ch I Ll v been found to be extremely useful for the purpose of cleaning and maintaining irrigating ditches in good condition. It is obvious that the device and the parts thereof may be made of any dimensions that may be considered suitable, but in a general way it may be said that an implement having a landside member of a length of twelve feet and of a height of fourteen inches with other parts proportioned in accordance therewith has been found satisfactory.

Having thus described the invention, What is claimed as new, is

1. A device of the class described comprising a body casting including a triangular base plate, convergent wall members rising therefrom in spaced relation to the side edges thereof, and flanges extending laterally from the upper ends of said wall members, in combination with a landside member and a mold board member secured on the outer faces of the wall members between the base plate and the flanges, and a cross brace connecting and spacing said landside member and mold board member.

2. In a device of the class described, a body casting having a right angled triangular base plate and upstanding flanged wall members parallel to the sides thereof, a landside member and a mold board member secured to the wall members between the base plate and the flanges, a cross brace spacing and connecting the landside member and the mold board member, and obliquely disposed foot boards mounted on the inner face of the landside member adjacent to the upper edge thereof, said foot boards being adapted to lie in an approximately horizontal plane when the implement is tilted to operative position.

3. In an implement of the class described, a body casting having forwardly convergent wall members and a forwardly extending bracket, a landside member and a mold board member secured to the wall members, and an obliquely disposed wing depending from the bracket of the body casting and lying adjacent to the outer face of the mold board member.

4. A ditching plow embodying a landside member and a mold board member, a

cross brace spacing and connecting said members, a casting constituting a brace connecting the cross brace with the mold board, obliquely disposed foot boards mounted on the inner face of the landside member adjacent to the upper edge thereof, said foot boards being adapted to lie in an approximately horizontal plane when the implement is tilted to operative position, and a gage wheel carried by the casting to engage one side of a ditch when the implement is thus tilted.

5. In a device of the class described, a body casting having rearwardly divergent wall members, a base plate from which said wall members rise, flanges extending laterally from the upper ends of the wall members, and a forwardly extending bracket, a landside member and a mold board member secured to the outer faces of the wall members intermediate the base plate and the flanges, a lug depending from the forwardly extending bracket and engaging the outer face of the mold board member, and means for connecting and bracing the landside and mold board members.

6. In a device of the class described, a body casting having rearwardly divergent wall members, a base plate from which said wall members rise, flanges extending laterally from the upper ends of the wall members, and a forwardly extending bracket, a landside member and a mold board member secured to the outer faces of the wall members intermediate the base plate and the flanges, a lug depending from the forwardly extending bracket and engaging the outer face of the mold board member, and means for connecting and bracing the landside and mold board members, said means including a CrOSs brace, and a casting connecting the cross brace with the mold board member, said casting having a wheel carrying shank.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EDWIN N. RICH.

Witnesses:

C. H. WEBB, FRANK SHUMAKER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

